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Tuesday, October 30, 2012

I'VE KISSED ENOUGH FROGS

As we all know, the journey of life is taken in small steps sometimes. I took one small step today. As I said yesterday, I had contacted a fourth contractor to get a leaky roof repaired. HE SHOWED UP. That's the good news. He was able to give me an estimate lower than the last guy, who never came back the day of the job.

He said he would tarp the roof until Friday, in order to let this rain and wind pass. Then checking the weather reports for this area, Thursday looks like some sun and clouds, but no rain. He said it would need one day to dry out some, so he would be there on Friday to replace the roof. The estimate was acceptable, he set a date to do the work, and unlike any of the other contractors (the ones who did show up to at least look at it), he gave me a WRITTEN estimate and contract to do the job. FINALLY, some professionalism. It DOES exist!

I went to Walmart to purchase a tarp so I could keep it after the repair, and he went to his construction trailer to get the item needed to tack it down. (They were red, larger than the grommets on the tarp, and he nailed them onto the roof, and the tarp stayed in place. First step accomplished.

When he gave me the estimate to do the ceiling repair, caused by the leaking roof, I was overjoyed for a moment - as well as a little shocked. The estimate was a little less than half what the previous guy was going to charge. Surprise-Surprise.

I have learned that some local contractors really don't want the work around here; and that they overcharge to make a fast buck if they do say they'll do the work. But when you finally find an honest, professional businessman, it's worth the wait. Like the old saying, 'you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince.' Get several estimates and compare the work ethics before you find the one that really wants to do the work.

He is betting on dry weather on Friday and plans to do both the roof and the ceiling in one day. Of course, he will have to come back on Saturday to put the second coat of mud on the drywall, then paint it, but that won't take long. I'm sure my son is looking forward to a dry, and warm weekend inside his house for a change.

1 comment:

That's a rather nice comparison of your contractor-hunting process. I'm glad you've finally got the right one and you've got your roof repaired at last. You're right. You need to be patient and do your research before you hire anyone to do your roof. It's better to wait a little more than waste time and money if the roof doesn't get repaired properly.